Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!husc6!necntc!ima!haddock!karl
From: karl@haddock.ISC.COM (Karl Heuer)
Newsgroups: comp.emacs
Subject: Re: request for help
Message-ID: <3644@haddock.ISC.COM>
Date: 26 Apr 88 22:58:58 GMT
References: <8804251727.AA25831@EDDIE.MIT.EDU>
Reply-To: karl@haddock.ima.isc.com (Karl Heuer)
Organization: Interactive Systems, Boston
Lines: 18

In article <8804251727.AA25831@EDDIE.MIT.EDU> damerell@NSS.CS.UCL.AC.UK (Dr R M Damerell, RHBNC) writes:
>2. I ran off the Emacs manual (ver. 18.50) & it came to 300 pages or so. Is s
>there a shorter document one can get to use as intro. for people who have 
>never seen Emacs before?

If you buy the bound manual from the FSF, it has a reference card in the back
(which can also be purchased separately).  However, my opinion is that the
best introduction -- especially for a new user -- is to simply run the
tutorial (C-h t, as described on the startup message that such user should get
when he types `emacs').

There are two prerequisites: (a) the user should have his erase character set
to DEL (and get used to this, if it's new to him, before tackling Emacs), and
(b) his terminal should have flow-control disabled so C-s and C-q can be used
as commands.  Both of these problems can be overcome with keyboard remapping,
but it's better for a neophyte to be able to follow the tutorial literally.

Karl W. Z. Heuer (ima!haddock!karl or karl@haddock.isc.com), The Walking Lint